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DUBAI, Sept 15 – A senior Saudi official, responding to Iranian criticism of Riyadh’s management of the hajj pilgrimage, urged Iran to end what he called wrong attitudes towards Arabs and warned it against any use of force in its rivalry with the kingdom. Mecca province governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, in remarks likely to be

By Dahlia Nehme MINA, SAUDI ARABIA, Sept 14 – Fear of getting caught is not enough to deter Abu Ahmed and up to 200,000 other illegal pilgrims from attending this year’s hajj in Mecca, despite a clampdown by the Saudi authorities aimed at preventing deadly overcrowding. The hajj, which every able-bodied Muslim is required to

MINA, Saudi Arabia, Sept 13 – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said on Tuesday hajj should not be used to achieve sectarian or political aims, remarks likely to be seen as aimed at rival Iran, which is involved in a public quarrel with Riyadh over the management of the pilgrimage. Speaking to dignitaries from Muslim countries

By Katie Paul RIYADH, Sept 4 – A year after the worst hajj disaster in a generation, Saudi Arabia is issuing pilgrims with electronic bracelets and using more surveillance cameras to avoid a repeat of a crush that killed hundreds and damaged already strained ties with Iran. The world’s largest annual Muslim gathering, bringing some

DOHA, July 8 – Saudi Arabia said a suicide bomber who attacked Prophet Mohammed’s Mosque in the city of Medina on Monday was a 26-year-old Saudi citizen with a history of drug abuse. Twelve Pakistanis and seven Saudis have been detained in relation to attacks that day. Naer Muslim Hamad crossed a parking lot next

By Angus McDowall RIYADH, July 4 – Suicide bombers struck three cities across Saudi Arabia on Monday, in an apparently coordinated campaign of attacks as Saudis prepared to break their fast on the penultimate day of the holy month of Ramadan. The explosions targeting U.S. diplomats, Shi’ite worshippers and a security headquarters at a mosque